Getting My Namaste On

When I lived in Fredericksburg I used to practice yoga weekly. There was a great studio near my apartment and I would go every Monday to do my power yoga and align my chakras. It was a really great class and I learned a lot about myself and my abilities. Unfortunately I haven't found a yoga class at the Y that I like or even an affordable studio. The classes at the Y are less about the spirituality of yoga and are more about the physicality. That's fine and all but I find classes with that as the focus have less of a flow and I lose the meditative effects. I think I'm going to start going regularly at the Y anyway. I really need to work on getting my flexibility back. Since I've been running things aren't what they used to be.

On my run last Friday my hip was really giving me a lot of trouble. I couldn't stretch the pain away with "normal" stretching so instead of a long run yesterday I decided to pull out a yoga DVD and look for some hip openers. There were none specifically listed on the menu but I figured if I stretch everywhere what can it hurt (no pun intended)? The problem most likely isn't really in my hip but somewhere else and the pain is just manifesting itself there. Away went the furniture and out came the yoga mat.

Boy oh boy. I didn't do anything really advanced but there were quite a few times I had to just hang out in child's pose and wait for the guide to move on to something less painful. It was so upsetting to realize how much all the other activities I've been doing these past few years have had a negative affect on my body. I stretch after workouts but it appears I've been cheating myself. I am sore all over the place today. That's great, I know. That means my body was worked in a totally different way. I just wish I had more of a relaxing experience and not one that hurt so much. I know if I keep up the yoga practice I'll be more balanced (literally and figuratively) so I'll just have to do that. One more workout to add to the to do list. But this can only be good in the long run. I know it.